The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Many power tools include a spindle to which a tool can be coupled. For instance, many routers include a spindle that removably couples to a collet nut for coupling a routing bit to the spindle. A motor drivingly rotates the spindle and the attached routing bit. Typically, the collet nut is threaded on the spindle, and in order to couple and decouple the routing bit, the collet nut is rotated relative to the spindle. Thus, many routers include a spindle lock assembly for locking the spindle against rotation such that the collet nut can be rotated relative to the spindle.
For instance, the spindle lock assembly typically includes a button that is attached to a pin. The button is biased in a radially outward direction. In order to lock the spindle, the button is pushed against the biasing force, and the pin enters a corresponding hole in the spindle.
However, use of conventional spindle lock assemblies can be somewhat awkward. More specifically, the spindle only includes one hole in the spindle for the pin to enter to lock the spindle. As such, the spindle may need to be rotated substantially about the spindle axis before the pin aligns with and enters the hole. Some spindles may include two holes spaced one hundred and eighty degrees apart; however, even in this configuration, the spindle may need to be rotated substantially before the pin and one of the holes align.
Furthermore, a wrench or other tool is typically required to rotate the collet nut about this spindle axis relative to the spindle, and this process can be cumbersome and time consuming. In some cases (e.g., where surrounding space is limited), the user is only able to rotate the wrench within a limited angular zone about the spindle axis, and a single rotation of the wrench through this limited angular zone is not sufficient to fully engage or disengage the collet nut. More specifically, the user locks the spindle, couples the wrench to the collet nut, and rotates the wrench through the limited angular zone. If the collet nut still needs to be rotated, the user keeps the spindle locked, detaches the wrench from the collet nut and advances the wrench, and then re-couples the wrench to the collet nut before rotating the wrench again through the limited angular zone. This process is repeated until the collet nut is fully engaged or disengaged. Accordingly, this process can be inconvenient and time consuming.
Moreover, some conventional spindle lock assemblies include a button that is painful to depress. For instance, the button may be relatively small and the biasing force required to depress the button can be substantial, thereby causing painful pressure on the user's finger. In addition, in some cases, the user's skin can enter space between the button and the surrounding surfaces of the housing and become jammed or pinched therebetween.